There has always been a need for a relatively light and portable dock structure, particularly for use by cottagers. It has been desirable to have a dock structure which could be placed in the water in the appropriate season and removed to avoid damage over the winter. This avoided the necessity for constructing large, expensive and space consuming piers at water's edge.
In more recent years ecological and environmental concerns have led to legislation in some jurisdictions which bans permanent structures along water fronts and permits only temporary or portable structure types. Such legislation has led to increased demand for improved deck structures.
A wide variety of such structures have been available for many years. Many of these use extruded aluminum frames with wood decking. Such structures originally suffered from a number of shortcomings, but have continuously been improved to the point where sturdy structures are now available with a substantial life expectancy.
There is, however, still room for improvement in various aspects of the structure. One area which has been troublesome for a number of years is in the manner of attaching the legs to the deck structure proper in decks which are supported on legs. Another problem has been in providing some means of mutual protection for the dock and boats which are moored to the dock. The present invention provides a very much improved leg holder and fender or rub strip combination.